If you are not very steady on your feet, do not like strong winds and/or have a pram or wheelchair, the last thing you want to be doing is to follow the Willmott Dixon Partnerships’ sign to turn right beyond the Fletchers Walk underpass en route to Centenary Square.

Those who do, will soon find they are faced with climbing some steps that, at best, could be kindly described as dodgy - see the last picture here for the grim reality!

The much easier way is to follow the instructions detailed below.

To get to the Christmas Craft Market with little effort, take the ramp which curves up towards Broad Street from the base of Alpha Tower.

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All you then have to do is to take the pedestrian crossing across Broad Street and then you will be in to Centenary Square, home of the Christmas Craft Market as well as the Ice Rink and Big Wheel.

And you won’t have seen a single step!

German Market to Christmas Craft Market – without steps

Start from the German Market in Victoria Square (Photo: Graham Young)

1. Start from the German Market in Victoria Square.

2. Walk past the front of Birmingham Town Hall towards Alpha Tower.

Head for Alpha Tower past Birmingham Town Hall (Photo: Graham Young)

If you look to your right while crossing the road just beyond the far the side of the Town Hall - just before you reach the point where the next photograph was taken - you will see Birmingham's biggest demolition site.

Even when you end up in the Fletchers Walk underpass, keep Alpha Tower in mind.

Fletchers Walk leads to Alpha Tower (Photo: Graham Young)

That's if you want the easy route.

3. The yellow sign next to the Town Hall does not say Craft Market, but you will find the stall are in Centenary Square on Broad Street, so the advice here is good.

Yellow sign (Photo: Graham Young)

4. Follow the This Way sign through the old Fletchers Walk monstrosity.

Don’t worry, it’s a lot better lit than it used to be in the old days as one of Birmingham’s most bizarre shopping arcades.

5. When you reach another underpass, do not follow the official sign to turn right here... otherwise you will have to climb some dodgy steps.

Turn right... for steps (Photo: Graham Young)

That would be almost impossible with a pram.

Totally impossible in a wheelchair.

And it would also be bad for your hair on a windy day.

6. By suggesting you to turn right, the official sign points you towards Baskerville House.

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This is where the Christmas Craft Market, Ice Rink and Big Wheel are in Centenary Square.

10. If you have wheels – bicycle, pram or wheelchair – taking this ramp next to Alpha Tower (unseen, left) towards Broad Street and Centenary Square will make like a lot easier if you are visiting the Christmas Craft Market, Ice Rink and Big Wheel.

Note: of course, to get from the Christmas Craft Market to the German Market without using the steps, simply follow these instructions in reverse order.

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What is the demolition site?

Dawn on the day Central Library demolition work started (Photo: Graham Young)

Birmingham is currently – and mistakenly in my view – knocking down what remains of John Madin’s Brutalist Central Library.

By demolishing the Copthorne Hotel and every other piece of tat around it instead, this landmark building could have been made to look amazing for a fraction of the cost of the new Library of Birmingham.

The steep steps leading down from Centenary Square if you take the 'wrong' route from the Christmas Craft Market back to the German Market (Photo: Birmingham Mail)

New finishing materials and a stunning light show would have turned the inverted ziggurat into Brum’s own upside-down pyramid, visible to everyone driving down Broad Street as illustrated in this video from 1981 when the Central Library was just seven years old.

See how amazing the Central Library looked in 1981 to motorists driving down Broad Street

Now that the damage has been done, it will surely be regretted by future generations that Birmingham hasn’t had the bottle, the foresight and/or the financial resources to make the most of what is now a glaringly obvious opportunity.

Soon the city will be constructing more faceless modern buildings that will be out of date within another 40 years.

Instead, we could have treasured the sudden emptiness to create one of the world’s greatest public squares.

The steep steps leading up to Centenary Square if you take the 'wrong' route from the German Market to Christmas Craft Market (Photo: Graham Young)

Just imagine... a beautiful Paradise Square flanked by the Council House, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Birmingham Town Hall.